Kenyan, Tanzanian Manufacturers Hold Three-day Trade Talks

Associations from both countries will engage Government Representatives in talks  Manufacturers from Kenya and Tanzania shall meet from Today, (7th July) to Friday (9th July) to deliberate on trade promotion and market access between the two countries. Food and Beverage, Edible Oils, Chemicals, Automotive, Leather and Footwear sectors are some of the manufacturing sectors that shall participate in the trade mission, hosted

Kenya Among Top Drivers of eCommerce Volumes in Sub-Saharan Africa – Visa

A recent report by Visa, the world leader in digital payments, has shown that Kenya is among the top market contributors to eCommerce in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the last 3 years. Visa’s white paper, titled eCommerce developments across Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), confirmed that, the Kenyan eCommerce scene has showcased growth, as the market’s financial

Kenyan Retail-tech Startup Tanda Secures Funding for Regional Expansion from HAVAÍC

Kenyan agency banking startup Tanda is expanding its operations regionally after securing funding from early-stage African tech investor HAVAÍC, Zedcrest Capital, DFS Lab, Victor Asemota and three other investors. Tanda has also secured key strategic partnerships with Mastercard and Interswitch which will further accelerate its growth. The company’s expansion comes on the back of successfully

79% of Kenyan Consumers are Shopping More Online Since the Start of Pandemic, Reveals Mastercard Study

Data top-ups (92%), clothing (67%) and computer equipment (56%) top the virtual shopping list in Kenya Top learning experiences include cooking, dancing, learning a language, and mastering DIY projects Social media has become an integral platform for connecting consumers to online businesses Secure checkout experience recognized as fundamental for online shopping A Mastercard study on consumer

Mastercard, Unilever and KCB Bank Strengthen Partnership to Support Micro-retailers in Kenya

Micro-retailers to receive $150,000 worth of financial support, free health products and training, to ease the economic impact of the pandemic. Mastercard, Unilever and KCB Bank have built on their partnership to support micro-merchants in Kenya by expanding their current Jaza Duka program to provide an extensive COVID-19 relief package to retailers. Micro, small and

Smollan Invests in the Circular Economy through Partnership with Fair-Trade Plastics Recycling Company, Mr. Green Africa

International retail solutions company, Smollan, have announced their partnership with Mr. Green Africa through an investment made in the fair-trade plastics recycling company based in Kenya. Mr. Green Africa aims to close the loop from consumer to plastics manufacturer through its supply network and high value recycled plastics. The company is on a journey to

phos and Stanchion Collaborate to Connect Merchants in Africa to the Contactless Digital Payment Ecosystem via their Existing Android Mobile Devices

Partnership is a game-changer in enabling contactless acceptance for smaller merchants across the continent phos, the fintech behind the first-ever software-only Point of Sale (SoftPOS), and Stanchion Payment Solutions, a global specialist in payments systems and integration, today announced that they have partnered to help payments processing companies and banks to accelerate time to market

Mondia and Jumia Launch Exciting New Gaming Service on JumiaPay App for Consumers in Africa

Mondia (https://Mondia.com), a leading technology company which specialises in the marketing and distribution of digital content and Jumia (NYSE : JMIA) (www.Jumia.com.ng), Africa’s largest e-commerce platform, today announced the launch of Jumia Games, a competitively priced entertainment category on the JumiaPay App. In its first phase, the fully branded gaming portal is available in five

Builders Finally Arrives in Kenya

Africa’s leading retailer of home improvement and building material products and service solutions, Builders, is set to open its doors and launch online trading to residents of Nairobi at the Waterfront Karen on 20 August 2020. Slightly delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, this is the retailer’s first venture into East Africa and one that will

Uber Launches its Largest Region-Wide Initiative in Partnership with Mastercard to Provide 120,000 Free Trips to Frontline Workers in the Middle East and Africa

The partnership with Mastercard is setting the benchmark for Uber across the MEA region. Our teams are working 24/7 to assist health and medical care authorities as well as workers supporting our communities in responding to the pandemic. We have partnered with Mastercard, who have committed 120,000 free trips and meals to workers who are

Visa Launches New ‘Where You Shop Matters’ Initiative to Support Small Businesses in Kenya

Initiative comes as new study finds consumers are increasingly embracing ecommerce and digital payments over cash and cheque. Study finds consumers are considerably more cautious with 69% avoiding rush hour. Shopping habits transformed during COVID-19 with 69% of consumers only visiting shops for essentials, though 30% of consumers say that they still use cash on

Nestlé Partners with Kenya Red Cross to Support COVID-19 Response Efforts

With the gradual increase of COVID – 19 infections across the country, Nestlé Kenya has stepped in to support the Kenya Red Cross Society and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ efforts to respond to the pandemic. Nestlé Kenya is donating KSh17.99million in cash to bolster sensitization, food relief, water, sanitation and hygiene initiatives by the

COVID-19: Jumia & Mastercard Incentivize Consumers to use Cashless Payments for Essential Products in Africa

Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform and Mastercard today announced a partnership to incentivize the use of cashless payments platforms as people look for safer ways to pay in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this initiative, consumers who purchase essential products using their Mastercard on the Jumia platform will receive up to a 10

Visa & Mydawa Partner to Ease Access to Essential Medication

Following a partnership announced between Visa and MYDAWA, it is now simpler and safer to purchase medication through the online pharmacy. The partnership is part of a drive to encourage consumers to embrace cashless payments and avoid leaving their homes where possible in support of calls by the government for citizens to observe social distancing

SPUR Corporation First Half Profit Up 20%

Spur Corporation today reported an increase of 8.4% in group revenue to R525 million as middle income consumers came under increasing financial strain in the six months to December 2019. The group’s profit before tax grew by 19.5% to R161.8 million, boosted by the recovery of an impairment provision of R10.8 million related to its

Innervation Pan African Payment Solutions scales retail offering with Loyalty Box acquisition

Innervation Pan African Payment Solutions (Innervation) has announced the acquisition of an African loyalty business, The Loyalty Box from Tritech Media. Innervation forms part of Crossfin Transactional Solutions (CTS), South Africa’s largest independent payments and merchant acquiring solutions platform. Under the terms of the deal, Innervation has acquired The Loyalty Box business for an undisclosed

Vivo Energy Kenya is on a Growth Path with 23 Shell Service Stations

Vivo Energy Kenya, the company that distributes and markets Shell-branded fuels and lubricants in the country, is on a growth path. The company has responded to motorists’ need for fuel convenience and has added 23 Shell service stations to its retail network. The new service stations, are located in eleven counties, namely: Laikipia, Kiambu, Nairobi,

How the South African FMCG Space can Learn from Kenya’s Example

By Andrew Dawson, Commercial Director at MACmobile The cash problem The simplest way of optimising route to market is through pre-sales, which then creates a predictable order and allows for the best delivery routes to be calculated. However, for much of the market in South Africa this is simply not the reality. To service the

Siemens Contributes to Coca-Cola Beverages Africa’s Vision in Advancing Digitalization

Developing digitalization capabilities through skills development; Digitalization provides flexibility to boost efficiency in Food and Beverage. The Nairobi Bottler’s Embakasi Plant based in Nairobi, Kenya, which is a fully owned subsidiary by Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), received a Totally Integrated Automation training rig from Siemens Digital Industries South Africa to enable skills development in Digitalization

Glovo Partners with News Cafe in An Aggressive Market Expansion Push

Global on-demand courier service company Glovo, which links motorcycle riders to consumers wishing to buy and deliver products, has partnered with News Cafe in a move aimed at expanding their market footprint in the country. The firm, which uses an app to enable its deliveries has partnered with the South African franchise to enable it

Shoprite Kenya Continues to Create Jobs with Opening of Its Fourth Store

With the opening of its fourth supermarket in Kenya this week at The Waterfront Karen, the Shoprite Group has created another 120 jobs bringing the total number of people now employed by Shoprite Kenya to 475, of which 65% are women. In addition to job creation, the Group is committed to the growth of the

Shoprite Continues March into Kenya with Opening of Third Store

Further strengthening its position in the East African market, the Shoprite Group launched its third supermarket in Kenya, and the first outside Nairobi. The opening of Shoprite City Mall in Nyali, Mombasa on 29 August, has created 115 new job opportunities, of which 65% are occupied by women. This is in addition to the 240

Jumia Food Looks Beyond Africa’s Middle Class for Growth

Jumia Food, a unit of New York-listed e-commerce platform Jumia Technologies is offering cheaper menu options in its African home market to attract lower income earners as it seeks to boost growth, the delivery company said. The platform, which delivers food and drink in 11 African countries, joins other international companies such as ride-hailing firm

Training of Joint Venture to Accelerate Growth of KFC Franchise Portfolio in East Africa

Vivo Energy plc (Vivo Energy), the pan-African retailer and distributor of Shell and Engen-branded fuels and lubricants, has agreed to a non-fuel joint venture to accelerate the roll-out of KFC restaurants in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda . The 50:50 joint venture Kuku Foods (Kuku Foods), who will remain the local KFC franchisee. Completion of this

KOKO Launches First Network in Nairobi

Venture-backed technology company KOKO Networks has launched its first network of 700 “KOKOpoints” inside neighbourhood shops across Nairobi. KOKOpoints are multi-purpose consumer access machines, combining a fuel ATM, an e-commerce kiosk and an in-store digital media experience. KOKO builds technology for life in the world’s fastest-growing cities. The first consumer solution on the Network is

Kenya Online Restaurant Platform Partners Indian Firm to Expand Foot Print in East Africa

EatOut, a Kenyan based eatery discovery service has partnered DineOut, Indian firm in the launch of a regional restaurant platform dubbed as InResto as they seek to tap a wider market in the regional expansion drive. According to a report by Business Daily, the partnership will see EatOut launch the Dineout’s restaurant technology platform for

Alibaba Gains E-commerce Edge in Kenya With Safaricom Deal

In a bid to bolster its e-commerce presence further, Alibaba BABA has teamed up with Safaricom, a Kenya-based provider of voice, data, financial services and enterprise solutions. Per the deal, Safaricom’s customers will be able to make payments via the company’s mobile-money wallet, M-Pesa, while shopping on AliExpress.com, an online shopping portal of Alibaba. Further,

Shoprite Opens Second Supermarket in Nairobi

Africa’s largest retailer, the Shoprite Group, opened its second supermarket in Kenya on Thursday, 21 March 2019 at the Garden City Mall in Nairobi. With more than 2 700 stores in 15 African countries, the Shoprite Group’s business is built on the promise of lower prices. It is now looking to establish a firm presence

Vivo Energy Completes Engen Transaction Adding 230 Service stations in Eight African Countries

Vivo Energy plc is pleased to announce the completion of the transaction with Engen Holdings (Pty) Limited, previously announced on 18 September 2018. The transaction adds operations in eight new countries and 230 Engen-branded service stations to Vivo Energy’s network, taking its total presence to over 2,000 service stations, across 23 African markets. The new

More in Store for African Retail & Consumer Businesses

Africa’s economy has seen modest growth in the wake of falling commodity prices, slowing revenues and volatile currencies. The moderation in growth impacts a range of industries and sectors, including retail and consumer products that must contend with rising costs, and a fall in prices. Despite the decline in growth, the long-term outlook remains positive.

Kenya: End of an Era As Iconic Retailer Ebrahim Supermarket Shuts

One of Kenya’s oldest retailers, Ebrahim Supermarket, has closed down its Moi Avenue branch in a move that ends its 75-year run in Nairobi. The retailer sold all of its stock on discounted prices throughout last week in a massive clear-out that ended on Saturday, marking its last day of operations. The building that housed

6 Sites Driving eCommerce in Africa

eCommerce in Africa is booming but that doesn’t leave out any struggles which include uncertainty around receiving orders satisfactorily. There are currently 65.4 million eCommerce users in Africa and the Middle East, with an additional 20 million users expected to be shopping online by 2021. When it comes to eCommerce sales in Africa, three of

Survey Reveals Kenya’s Customer Experience State in 2018

Kenya’s second largest telco Airtel, Equity bank and pay TV service provider DSTV have emerged to be among major brands offering their customers remarkable services and satisfaction. In a recent integrated customer experience company mSurvey has revealed the results for the year 2018 in their quarterly Customer Loyalty Benchmark Report. The report which highlighted the

Carrefour Kenya Inks Deal with Online Platform Jumia to Boost Grocery, Beverages Sale

French multinational retailer, Carrefour has entered into a definitive agreement with Jumia, a Nigeria-based e-commerce platform to boost online grocery, beverages and other sales. A Business Daily report indicates that the deal will allow Carrefour customers purchase a wide selection of products from its six Nairobi stores on Jumia’s online platform starting January. Carrefour is

Kenya’s Milk Production Rises 6.7% on Favourable Weather Conditions

Kenya has recorded a 6.78% increase in milk production between the months of January 2018 to October 2018 as compared to last year attributed to favourable weather conditions during the period under review, reports Business Daily. This is equivalent to an increase to 517.6 million liters from 484.3 million liters recorded in the year 2018

Kenya Meat Commission Suspends Over 60 Staff on a Go-Slow Fiasco

The Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) has suspended over 60 workers from its Athi River based factory for allegedly participating in a work go slow that had seen the slaughter operation in the factory impaired, reports the Kenya News Agency. The commission through the Managing Commissioner, James Ole Serian issued an interdiction letter to the workers

Zara Arrives in 106 Markets Thanks to its New Global Online Store

Zara’s global women’s men’s and kids’ collections will be available online for the first time to customers in Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Ghana, among others. Zara will launch online sales through a dedicated worldwide online platform, thus bringing its fashions to customers in 106 new

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Invests in State of the Art Manufacturing in Kenya

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) is evolving to become a total beverage company in response to changing consumer tastes and buying habits. In this context its portfolio of beverages is expanding significantly with the introduction of new products and the introduction of different categories of beverages. Part of this new way of doing business, CCBA in

Africa’s Entertainment and Media Industry Enters Dynamic New Wave of Convergence – 3.0

By 2022, total E&M revenue in South Africa is expected to reach R177.2 billion, up from R129.2 billion in 2017 Africa’s entertainment and media industry has entered a dynamic new phase – a third wave of convergence. The borders that once separated the entertainment and media (E&M), technology and telecommunications industries are blurring in the

What the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement means for SA

South Africa has signed the African Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement with the African Union, which will pave the way for the country to benefit from inter-regional trade within the African continent. “This agreement is an important step towards South Africa’s participation in a market of over one billion people and will create opportunities and

Truecaller Partnership with Yum Kenya to Aid Last Mile Food Delivery

Truecaller and Yum Deliveries, Nairobi’s premier online restaurant delivery service, announced today that they have partnered to provide an enhanced delivery experience by giving users more context to calls, and letting them know when their meal is about to reach them. Truecaller will now be able to show all customer care and logistics related calls

Spike in Kenyan Consumers Online Shopping Behaviour – Mastercard Love Index

The annual Mastercard Love Index indicates that Kenyans are turning to online retail outlets to purchase their Valentines gifts, with a 183 percent increase in the number of e-commerce transactions taking place from 2015 to 2017. Created by analysing credit, debit and prepaid transactions across the past three Valentine periods (11th-14th February 2015-17). The Mastercard

Mastercard Launches Kionect for Nairobi’s Smallest Shopkeepers

Mastercard has unveiled Kionect, a digital ordering system that empowers small kiosk owners in Nairobi to order and pay for products from wholesalers via SMS. Orders submitted via a feature phone helps create a digital record for kiosk owners to get access to micro-loans to stock inventory and grow their business. Kionect is currently being

PayPal Launches Seller Protection in Some Sub-Saharan Africa countries

PayPal has announced the launch of its Seller Protection Programme in some Sub-Saharan Africa countries, in an effort to empower local businesses to trade online, both locally and globally with confidence and peace of mind. PayPal’s Seller Protection Programme is designed to help protect merchants from buyer’s claims, chargeback, and reversals, so that they are

DHL and MallforAfrica Team up to Further Cross-Border E-Commerce to the United States

DHL Express, the world’s leading international express services provider recently announced its partnership with MallforAfrica, the award-winning global e-commerce company, which will facilitate selling of made-in-Africa products to customers in the United States. Businesses can do so via the eBay platform powered by MallforAfrica. Through this partnership, DHL locations will serve as drop-off points for